What kind of chopsticks

The Rise of the Cleanfluencer. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. Heat-resistant Non-slip design to help grip food Great value for the quantity you get. May be too heavy for some. Edison Friends. Edison Friends amazon. Has finger placement guides Come in left and right-handed versions. Takes some practice to use efficiently. Plum Garden. Plum Garden amazon. Removable rings and topper to help guide fingers Comes in fun colors and animal themes.

Not convenient to clean each part. Pearl River Mart. Kitchenware pearlriver. Extra long length for cooking Textured tips to help grip food. Beginners may find these difficult to use. Crate and Barrel. Textured tips to help grip food. Hand washing is recommended. Textured to help keep food from slipping. Not dishwasher safe Beginners may find fine tips hard to use. Dishwasher safe Textured tips to help hold food. Too slippery for some.

Color coating may scratch off. KonMari konmari. Stylish pattern Dishwasher safe. Not for beginners. Ah, the unassuming chopsticks, ubiquitous in Asia. Invented in ancient China, the Chinese people have been wielding the chopsticks since at least BC. The first evidence of chopsticks were made of bronze. Uncovered from the Ruins of Yin , they are thought to be used for cooking, stirring the fire and serving food instead of eating. We have Confucius and his disdain of knives to thank for the ascent of chopsticks.

As a vegetarian, Confucius believed that sharp utensils would remind people of the slaughterhouse, evoking violence and warfare, thus killing the peaceful and contented mood that should reign at the dinner table. Over the years, different cultures have adopted different chopstick styles.

Have you noticed that there are different kinds of chopsticks? How do Chinese chopsticks differ from Japanese and Korean ones? A nod to Confucian teachings, Chinese chopsticks feature blunt instead of pointed ends. We also tried several options made of stainless steel, which is, of course, very durable. Testers almost unanimously disliked the round hollow pairs, though a select few really enjoyed the sleek minimalism of the flat, Korean-shaped chopsticks.

If you primarily want chopsticks for cooking, or for eating hot, soupy dishes such as ramen, pho, or other noodle soups , consider that metal conducts heat a little too well.

With chopsticks there are, and you may want to make use of that. We stayed away from super-shiny lacquers they often make the chopsticks too slippery, and in our experience they inevitably chip away. But we also found that chopsticks with overly raw finishes had a tendency to shred and splinter. Even our melamine pick has some texture to its tips. Most people probably want several pairs, and in my experience even the best chopsticks are liable to eventually warp, break, or slip between cracks due to their thin, long physiques.

So we knew we wanted to keep prices low. This gave us a sense of the curb appeal of each pair. But we also allowed testers to continue picking out and trying many more options throughout testing.

We supplied several different shapes, sizes, and textures of food, including rice, noodle soup, gyoza, kung pao chicken, bok choy, soft tofu, and, of course, Cheetos. We asked testers to record which pairs were their favorite and least favorite and to answer questions about comfort, ease of use, and any other impressions. We also tested durability by washing each pair of chopsticks by hand multiple times, then running the front-runners through a dishwasher five times.

To see how they resisted stains, we took our picks and soaked the tips for an hour in a solution of turmeric, hot water, and oil. Admittedly, this is a very intense test—the staining prowess of turmeric is, frankly, legendary, and rarely would a pair of chopsticks ever be submerged in it for a full hour. We also measured each of the chopsticks ourselves, which explains why some of the dimensions listed in this guide may differ from the specs you see online.

We wanted an accurate sense of how the different tip and handle sizes compared. We used them for everyday eating and cooking. I knew we were most likely to recommend these for cooking use, and wanted to see whether they could handle one of the most demanding tasks without warping or becoming discolored. Though we tested what would happen if our wooden chopstick picks ended up in the dishwasher, ultimately we think the best way to care for them so they last is to wash them by hand.

An efficient way to wash several chopsticks at once is to bundle them up, soap them, and then rub them between your two palms in a bunch.

The friction gets rid of most stuck-on food. You can rinse them in a tub of water afterward, or hold them under the faucet and continue rubbing the bundle of chopsticks under the running water. It may also be a good idea to disinfect chopsticks every so often even if some research shows bacteria may not live or multiply on wood as much as we feared. If they do get a little too out of shape for use, you can always try very gently bending them back with your hands before relegating them to the trash bin.

And we know that for the uninitiated, this can feel daunting—especially since the etiquette surrounding chopstick use is far from monolithic. Your Vietnamese auntie may warn you about different offenses than your Japanese neighbor would. But among the several experts I interviewed and considering rules I grew up with in my own family , there are a couple of common no-nos:.

Another question that may come up is how important it is to use certain styles of chopsticks to serve certain types of cuisine. I mean, get the food in your mouth. And if you have a hard time getting food in your mouth, or that pair of chopsticks is uncomfortable to use, then switch it up. If I were to come to your house and you served me Vietnamese food with Japanese or Korean chopsticks, I would manage just fine, because I would be happy that you cooked for me and you hosted me in your home.

Chopstick rests can keep your chopsticks in place and their tips off the table in between bites. You can, of course, live without a rest and lay your chopsticks on the table or the edge of your plate or bowl. Although chopsticks tend to be fairly uniform in appearance, chopstick rests can range from simple and utilitarian to highly whimsical. They can be made of porcelain, ceramic, wood, metal, or plastic, among other materials, and vary in price from less than a dollar apiece to much, much more.

Korin, the maker of two of our chopsticks picks, has many tasteful, inexpensive options to suit all kinds of table settings and decor preferences. We like the minimalist Geta in black or white , as well as the colors and organic shape of the Iga Rustic Brown rest. We tested a five-pair set of Pearl River octagonal wooden chopsticks. They had handles that were comfortable to use and tips that were not too thin, and they held up well in the dishwasher.

These have a Chinese-style shape rather than Korean, with a hollow center. Most testers who had trouble with these chopsticks admitted that was due more to their lack of familiarity with the flat shape. The handles on the Korin Black Non-Slip Scalloped Melamine Chopsticks were comfortable to hold, since the scallops created perfect-size divots for resting your fingers.

Their tips are also a little too narrow. Upon closer inspection, we found that the Black Non-Slip Wooden Chopsticks from Korin had visible drips of paint or lacquer at the tops of each pair.

This pair was one of our favorites, with comfortably thick handles, not-too-slender tips, and a nice medium length. Sadly, a few hand washes revealed a poor finish that became strangely sticky and started peeling like a sunburn. The persimmon Tetoca Chopsticks from Kawai they come in a plum-tree version , too look lovely, and their tips are a little sturdier than those of the too-skinny Mujis. Unfortunately, the wood on both pairs showed some shredding after a few washings even by hand.

As we found with reusable straws , round stainless steel chopsticks from a variety of retailers tend to look very similar. And though these chopsticks are certainly durable and dishwasher safe, few testers liked them.

The artsy Aero Chopsticks with Rest by Portuguese luxury-flatware maker Cutipol were definitely a case of form over function. Chopstick novices and mavens alike could barely pick up food with the stiletto-sharp stainless steel tips. Anyone who grew up going to dim sum or pho restaurants knows all about these faux-ivory Melamine Chopsticks with dragon and phoenix designs. Again, those who grew up using them liked them just fine. They come in a variety of colors, held up great in the dishwasher, and offer great value.

The Black Melamine Noodle Chopsticks from Korin seem like a good idea in theory: super-textured tips for holding onto slippery noodles. In practice, however, they were too textured, sort of like eating with Legos. The Snow Peak Wabuki Chopsticks are finely crafted. However, would get hangry if he had to screw these things together every time he ate.